Help! What about changing the barrels of a couple of safe queens?

D

Dearhunter61

New member
Guys,

I have two rifles that are safe queens and I'm thinking about changing the barrels on them. If I change the barrels then I'm thinking they will go from safe queens to shooters! CZ Model 3 300 WSM and Browning BBR 270.

Thinking about changing the barrel on the .270 to a .260

Thinking about changing the 300 WSM to 7mm-08

Recommendation?

Feedback please!
 
For the 270 to 260, it is pretty straightforward: swap the barrel, maybe a magazine block, but pretty easy. It might be easier and cheaper to trade it towards something you want, but that's your call.

The 300 WSM is another story. It has a larger bolt face and the feed lips are too far apart to switch to a standard cartridge. Best bet is to trade it off and apply the money to the next rifle you want.
 
Well the .270 to .260 would work, but the .300 WSM to 7mm-08 won't work with that magnum bolt face. The WSM's are .535" bolt face diameter, 7mm-08 is .473". Also the feed lips/ramp for a WSM won't work well with a .308 family round.

Another thing to consider is that the 7mm-08 and .260 are very, very similar rounds. Same case and only 0.020" difference in bullet diameter. If I had one I wouldn't see the need for the other.

.260 in a long action is a good idea especially if you want to load long, heavy bullets close to the lands.

As for what to rebarrel the .300 wsm to, if it were me and I wanted a change, .223 wssm, .243 wssm, or .25 wssm would all be considered, even though they have been known to have feeding problems because of the stubby case and sharp shoulder angle. It's going to be hard to make anything other than a short mag cartridge work in that rifle because its a short action with a magnum bolt face.
 
Ugh...I don't know why I didn't think about that! Bolt face of 300WSM. Crap! Oh well. I'll sell it or it'll get to continue to be a safe queen...
 
Sell the .300 wsm to fund the .260 project and get a better barrel and new stock, aftermarket trigger, or maybe a better scope.

When you've got money the possibilities are endless! :D
 
Sell both, buy a Ruger#1 and have it rebarreled to 7mm08!:D simple. I re barreled a safe queen #1 into a handy little 7mm08 with a 19 inch barrel by McGowan. They did the work, it took a long time, they told me up front so no complaints there. You will be pleased with the 7mm08 round. It's a great deer round and easy to reload for.

If you don't want to do the work yourself, check out McGowan, they did good work for a reasonable price. I should forewarn you, they can be a bit slow and gruff occasionally, but they turned a safe queen into my go to deer rifle.
 
You may want to talk to a gunsmith first on the BBR see what he would recommend and as others suggest might sell that rifle. The BBR was little different with 9 locking lugs in 3 rows and I'm not saying it's a bad deal.
 
If you reload, turn the .300 WSM into a .325 WSM. You'll never be disappointed again.

If you don't reload....
Sell them both and buy something else. If they're safe queens, it means you don't like them, and rebarreling them will be more expensive than selling them off and buying something else.
 
Guys, thanks for you alls advice! Certainly provided things to think about. As for the 300 and to a small degree the 270, I've had neck surgery and still have issues with it so I'm a little recoil sensitive. I currently deer hunt with a 6.5x55 and a 25-06. Both of these are factory rifles and I've heard stories about rebarreling rifles that have quality actions and transforming good shooters into great shooters. I'm already planning on a 6.5 Creedmoor. I have the action and now just waiting for the holidays to pass and then I'm going to pick up the barrel and stock. I've gone from planning to spend 1300-1400 on the rifle to 2000-2100 and that's not including a scope. So while I've been thinking about this rifle it got me to thinking about these two. Truth is that as for the BBR, I've got two of them and both shoot lights out so I was wondering how they would shoot with a custom barrel on it.
 
OK,I'll stir things up.

Neck the .300 WSM down to 6.5.Sell the other rifle.

Another option,use the Remington short mag case,it a touch shorter,longer bullet seating.

Next?
 
Changing the CZ from 300WSM to 7mm-08 could only be done if you purchased a new bolt for the action. I don't know how much that would cost, or if you can purchase a new bolt, but it might be less expensive to just sell the rifle and purchase a 7mm-08.

In you last post you said;
I have the action and now just waiting for the holidays to pass and then I'm going to pick up the barrel
Click to expand...

I had a rifle built last year and every barrel company I looked at had a waiting list, some over 6 months long. I'm only bringing this up so you don't have the same disappointment I did, having to wait 4 months for my barrel!
 
CZ Model 3 300 WSM and Browning BBR 270.
Click to expand...
Thinking about changing the barrel on the .270 to a .260
Click to expand...
Possible, bolt size is the same, might have problems with feeding the shorter cartridge.

Thinking about changing the 300 WSM to 7mm-08
Click to expand...

Bolt size is different, feed rail size is different, more trouble than it's worth.

In both cases you would be better off selling / trading for what you want than sinking more money into it.
 
As mentioned earlier, the .260 and 7mm-08 are pretty similar. Depending on your application, you probably only need one or the other. You could sell the 300, use the money to rebarrel the 270, and, extra bonus: you have an empty spot in your safe which you could fill at a future date.
 
If you reload, turn the .300 WSM into a .325 WSM.
Click to expand...

This would be a step backwards. The 300 WSM shoots bullets of equal weight, but much better ballistic coefficients to the same speeds. At the muzzle they offer exactly the same energy levels, but beyond 50 yards the 300 WSM has the advantage. The longer the range, the bigger the gap becomes. The better .30 caliber bullets out penetrate at any range. The .017" difference in bullet diameter is irrelevant.

The choice of .30 caliber bullets is almost unlimited. .325 bullets are hard to find and virtually no choices in good bullets.

If you don't like the 300 WSM, sell it. If recoil is the concern, load it down to 308 levels.

For that matter the 270 can be loaded down to 7-08 performance and recoil levels. You'll save a lot of money, and get what you want by just keeping what you have and taking up reloading.
 
This would be a step backwards. The 300 WSM shoots bullets of equal weight, but much better ballistic coefficients to the same speeds. At the muzzle they offer exactly the same energy levels, but beyond 50 yards the 300 WSM has the advantage. The longer the range, the bigger the gap becomes. The better .30 caliber bullets out penetrate at any range. The .017" difference in bullet diameter is irrelevant.

The choice of .30 caliber bullets is almost unlimited. .325 bullets are hard to find and virtually no choices in good bullets.
Click to expand...
First of all:
It isn't a 0.017" difference in bore size or groove diameter. It's 0.015". ".325 WSM" is a name. The actually groove diameter and bullet diameter is 0.323". The fact that you don't even know what diameter the bullets are really makes me wonder if you have EVER dealt with ANY 8mm cartridge. Anyway....


If you compare bullets of the same style and weight, but different calibers, you will obviously have a different BC. That's the way it works.
If you want to compare same weight bullets across multiple calibers, we can do that, but by the time we get to 180 gr .17 caliber bullets (with their insane BCs), it'll be a little ridiculous.

Bullet selection cannot be arbitrarily labeled as "unlimited" or "limited", without discussing the intended purpose of the rifle. Attempting to do so, without that information, is a waste of time.

Regardless...
If you're shooting 150 gr and "165" gr bullets in a .325 WSM, you are wasting the cartridge's potential. If you aren't shooting 190-250 gr bullets in a .325 WSM, it's a waste of powder.


Don't like the 8mm bore size? Don't buy one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top